The helicopter hovered steadily in the air, its interior surprisingly quiet for a machine of its class. Faro sat across from me, hands folded in his lap. His face betrayed nothing but unwavering calm — and a confidence more unsettling than any threat.

His words still echoed in my head.
"Don’t pretend you don’t know. You think it’s a coincidence you survived termination?"

I clenched my hands against my thighs and stared out the narrow window. The desert was far behind us now. We were probably heading north. Into the mountains. Or into another kind of hell.

Eventually, I spoke again:

— If you know so much, then tell me one thing. Why now? Why not before? You had me. You could’ve neutralized me. You could’ve left me to rot in that cell.

Faro leaned back comfortably in his seat, like he’d been expecting the question.

— Because you weren’t ready. Neither were we. But now... things are beginning to change. The Foundation’s structures are trembling. Certain anomalies have stopped responding to known containment methods. Other threats are resurfacing... And you, Aiden, you’re one of those inexplicable variables that break the equation.

I narrowed my eyes.

— What the hell are you talking about?

— Tell me, has anything that’s happened to you since arriving at the Foundation ever felt... normal?

I didn’t answer. I didn’t have to.

Faro went on:

— Coincidences. Accidents. “Procedural errors” that kept you alive. Do you really think that communicator in your room was the first? That it was a mistake? Or maybe... an invitation?

I started to feel a weight settle on my chest. Faro was hitting places I’d tried hard to ignore.

— So what now? What are you going to do with me?

The doctor leaned forward slightly, his voice dropping lower, more focused.

— First and foremost, we want to understand you. Right now, you're a threat — but you might also be the answer. You see, Aiden, if you truly carry even a fragment of what we suspect... then maybe you're not human. At least, not entirely.

I froze.

— What...?

— But as I said before — all in due time.

Faro leaned back again. That familiar smile returned to his face. The helicopter began its slow descent. Outside, through the mist, a massive structure emerged — an underground facility ringed by concrete walls and automated turrets. A helipad sat on its rooftop.

A new beginning.

Or a new end.

I clenched my jaw and didn’t say another word. Only one question echoed in my mind:

“If I’m not entirely human… then what am I?”